U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) cheered the recent passage of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, which is now headed to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

Three Southeastern lllinois counties, along with 21 others throughout the state, have violated the National Voter Registration Act, according to a letter sent to the state by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch recently.

After rolling back Obama-era regulations with an executive order on Tuesday, President Donald Trump and conservatives across the country are claiming a much-needed victory for the Republican Party and the coal industry that once flourished in Southern Illinois.

When the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) scheduled a strike vote earlier this year, many viewed the move as another tactic orchestrated by the union to prevent Gov. Bruce Rauner from imposing his last, best offer.

Not all Illinois public employees who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are gung-ho and in lockstep with the government-worker union's negotiating tactics.

Terming the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) an “800-pound gorilla at the negotiating table,” the Illinois Policy Institute recently examined the relationship between the union and Illinois workers, suggesting that the balance of power tends to tilt toward the union.

In a victory for Gov. Bruce Rauner and his administration, the Illinois Labor Relations Board ruled in a 5-0 vote on Nov. 15 that the state and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have reached an impasse in their contract negotiations.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for black Americans stands at 8.1 percent, which is higher than the national average of all Americans; but Illinois has the highest black unemployment rate in the entire country at 15 percent.

In the overwhelming majority of states, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) provides benefits to families with an illegal immigrant wage earner in it while denying benefits to an identical family of American citizens having the same income, according to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

With the welfare system falling apart, it may be time to look at the possibility of a basic income for every American, a concept that has been championed by well-known economists and political scientists of the past and present including Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Charles Murray.

The recent passage of the 2017 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill means the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) will use its funds in proportion with the percentage of whistleblower cases the office gets from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).